I Know It Hurts
by Beth Catherine
Summary: Piper died in the final battle between the gods and Gaia. Reyna is there to comfort Jason and help him get through Piper's death. Jeyna and Jasper in one, I suppose... One-shot.


_Hullo! _

_Piper died in the final battle between the gods and Gaia! Oh no! *Cries*  
However, Reyna is there to comfort Jason and help him through Piper's death._

_I suppose this is like Jayna and Jasper in one - I ship both so..._

_I don't own Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan does._

_Enjoy..._

* * *

I sit across from Jason outside a coffee shop in new Rome. Everything looks beautiful in the sun. The flowers seem a shade brighter and the grass a bolder green. People mill around smiling and chatting and the air outside the shop smells deliciously of fresh coffee.

Jason looks down into his coffee cup as if something important resides in the dark brown liquid. I sneeze and, startled, he looks up with wide, blue eyes.

"Bless you," he says with a small smile. Jason's blonde hair looks almost golden in the sun.

"Thank you," I reply.

We sit for a bit without saying anything. I know he's thinking of Piper and I know it's making him sad. I just don't know what to do. Since her death in the final battle between Gaia and the gods Jason has moments where he doesn't speak or do anything – just be completely still and silent, he always seems so far away when it happens. It pains me to see him like this.

"You know," I begin an attempt at pulling his mind from Piper, "I was helping out with educating some of the new recruits yesterday and they were learning about the Emperors of Rome. I said 'who here knows who succeeded the first Emperor of Rome?' Guess what one of them said."

"Tell me," Jason says with a smile that I know is just slightly forced – I've done it enough times in my life to know what it looks like.

"A boy at the back of the class called out 'the second one!'" I say and begin to laugh.

To my relief Jason laughs too. It's a real laugh as well, not a fake one people may use to make a person feel better about their horrible joke. He seems to have come out of his trance and we talk as we usually do – easily, carefree.

_~OoO~_

Piper was always so gorgeous and perfect. She was the kind of girl with effortless beauty – inside and out. Piper was the sort of person everyone can grow to like, even me. In her last moments we fought together and I really, finally, saw her as friend. Being a daughter of Bellona I seem to bond more with people after we have fought side-by-side. Piper was a great warrior.

I know this is what Jason must have seen and that's a lot to let go of. I understand that. And now Piper is dead, she's gone and never coming back. I think of all the pain I've had in my life – when my home was destroyed, when my sister and I parted, when Hera stole Jason away from me. All that and so much more, I know what it feels like.

_~OoO~_

He cries sometimes when he thinks that no one is around. I never know what to do – should I try to comfort him? Do just leave him?

One time I walk into his barrack to find Jason sitting on his bunk and looking out of the window. His body shakes as he cries and I can hear him taking deep breaths to try and calm himself down. I slowly make my way over to him and sit on the boy's bunk beside him.

I put my arm around him and make small soothing circles on his back with my hand. "I know it hurts. I know…"

We stay like that for ages, he stop crying when there were no more tears to fall but he still feels no better. He lies back on his bed and pulls me down with him. I put my head on his chest and he runs his fingers through my long, dark hair. Whether he is thinking of me as Piper I don't know, but it seems to help. It hurts _my_ feelings to think that I'm some kind of replacement but he is the one this is all about – not me and my selfish feelings.

It is up to me to put Jason back together as best as I can. It is my job to help him get back to how he used to be and I'm happy to help.

* * *

_~ The End ~_

_The plot of this is kind of based on the song Picking Up the Pieces by Paloma Faith (I haven't included any lyrics). Listen to her - she's great!_

_Thank you for reading! Review maybe? Please?_


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